Guatemala Municipalities

The municipality (municipio) is the second tier of Guatemala, between the 22 departments and the villages, and the unit that names almost every town on a road sign. There are 340 of them, from the tiny ones that ring Lake Atitlán to the vast ones of Petén.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: Department: the 22 of the country
In the game: 340 municipalities

Start

What you are looking at

The municipalities of Guatemala. The name is usually the town at its centre, and many carry a saint: San Pedro, San Juan, San Marcos, Santa Cruz, with a second name to tell them apart, as in San Juan Sacatepéquez or Santa Cruz del Quiché. The ring of villages round Lake Atitlán is a good example, with San Pedro, San Juan, San Marcos, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Pablo all La Laguna.

Six names belong to two municipalities each, in different departments: La Democracia, La Libertad, San José, San Lorenzo, San Pedro Sacatepéquez and Santa Bárbara. They are told apart in brackets by their department.

The municipalities are very uneven. The west packs hundreds into the highlands, and the smallest, Santa Catarina Palopó on Lake Atitlán, covers under five square kilometres, so the smallest have a tap area wider than their outline and zooming in is the way to reach the rest. In the north the opposite holds: Petén has only fourteen, and San Andrés alone is bigger than whole departments.

The two lakes, Amatitlán and Atitlán, are water and are not on the map as municipalities. The groups are the departments, so the game lets you drill them one at a time. Each department answers under the same name in Guatemala Departments.

How to place one

Pick one department and learn it. Izabal has only five and is the quickest to finish; Huehuetenango has 33 and is the longest.
Start where you begin. A first run opens on the department of Guatemala, the capital and its sixteen neighbours, before the rest of the country.
Follow the highways. The Pan-American runs through the western highlands from Chimaltenango to Huehuetenango, and the municipalities along it are the ones a road sign names.
Treat Petén as the empty half. Its municipalities are large and few, so they are the quickest to place.

Every municipality, by department

Huehuetenango33 municipalities: Aguacatán, Barillas, Chiantla, Colotenango, Concepción Huista, Cuilco, Huehuetenango, Ixtahuacán, Jacaltenango, La Democracia (Huehuetenango), La Libertad (Huehuetenango), Malacatancito, Nentón, Petatán, San Antonio Huista, San Gaspar Ixchil, San Juan Atitán, San Juan Ixcoy, San Mateo Ixtatán, San Miguel Acatán, San Pedro Necta, San Rafael La Independencia, San Rafael Petzal, San Sebastián Coatán, San Sebastián Huehuetenango, Santa Ana Huista, Santa Bárbara (Huehuetenango), Santa Eulalia, Santiago Chimaltenango, Soloma, Tectitán, Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Unión Cantinil
Petén14 municipalities: Dolores, El Chal, Flores, La Libertad (Petén), Las Cruces, Melchor de Mencos, Poptún, San Andrés, San Benito, San Francisco, San José (Petén), San Luis, Santa Ana, Sayaxché
Escuintla15 municipalities: Escuintla, Guanagazapa, Iztapa, La Democracia (Escuintla), La Gomera, Masagua, Nueva Concepción, Palín, Río Bravo, San José (Escuintla), San Vicente Pacaya, Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Sipacate, Siquinalá, Tiquisate
Guatemala17 municipalities: Amatitlán, Chinautla, Chuarrancho, Fraijanes, Guatemala, Mixco, Palencia, Petapa, San José del Golfo, San José Pinula, San Juan Sacatepéquez, San Pedro Ayampuc, San Pedro Sacatepéquez (Guatemala), San Raimundo, Santa Catarina Pinula, Villa Canales, Villa Nueva
Quiché21 municipalities: Canillá, Chajul, Chicamán, Chiché, Chichicastenango, Chinique, Cunén, Ixcán, Joyabaj, Nebaj, Pachalum, Patzité, Sacapulas, San Andrés Sajcabajá, San Antonio Ilotenango, San Bartolomé Jocotenango, San Juan Cotzal, San Pedro Jocopilas, Santa Cruz del Quiché, Uspantán, Zacualpa
Izabal5 municipalities: El Estor, Lívingston, Los Amates, Morales, Puerto Barrios
San Marcos30 municipalities: Ayutla, Catarina, Comitancillo, Concepción Tutuapa, El Quetzal, El Rodeo, El Tumbador, Esquipulas Palo Gordo, Ixchiguán, La Blanca, La Reforma, Malacatán, Nuevo Progreso, Ocós, Pajapita, Río Blanco, San Antonio Sacatepéquez, San Cristóbal Cucho, San José Ojetenam, San Lorenzo (San Marcos), San Marcos, San Miguel Ixtahuacán, San Pablo, San Pedro Sacatepéquez (San Marcos), San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta, Sibinal, Sipacapa, Tacaná, Tajumulco, Tejutla
Alta Verapaz17 municipalities: Cahabón, Chahal, Chisec, Cobán, Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, Lanquín, Panzós, Raxruhá, San Cristóbal Verapaz, San Juan Chamelco, San Pedro Carchá, Santa Catalina La Tinta, Santa Cruz Verapaz, Senahú, Tactic, Tamahú, Tucurú
Jutiapa17 municipalities: Agua Blanca, Asunción Mita, Atescatempa, Comapa, Conguaco, El Adelanto, El Progreso, Jalpatagua, Jerez, Jutiapa, Moyuta, Pasaco, Quesada, San José Acatempa, Santa Catarina Mita, Yupiltepeque, Zapotitlán
Sololá19 municipalities: Concepción, Nahualá, Panajachel, San Andrés Semetabaj, San Antonio Palopó, San José Chacayá, San Juan La Laguna, San Lucas Tolimán, San Marcos La Laguna, San Pablo La Laguna, San Pedro La Laguna, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Santa Catarina Palopó, Santa Clara La Laguna, Santa Cruz La Laguna, Santa Lucía Utatlán, Santa María Visitación, Santiago Atitlán, Sololá
Zacapa11 municipalities: Cabañas, Estanzuela, Gualán, Huité, La Unión, Río Hondo, San Diego, San Jorge, Teculután, Usumatlán, Zacapa
Chimaltenango16 municipalities: Acatenango, Chimaltenango, Comalapa, El Tejar, Parramos, Patzicía, Patzún, Pochuta, San Andrés Itzapa, San José Poaquil, San Martín Jilotepeque, Santa Apolonia, Santa Cruz Balanyá, Tecpán Guatemala, Yepocapa, Zaragoza
Quetzaltenango24 municipalities: Almolonga, Cabricán, Cajolá, Cantel, Coatepeque, Colomba, Concepción Chiquirichapa, El Palmar, Flores Costa Cuca, Génova, Huitán, La Esperanza, Olintepeque, Ostuncalco, Palestina de Los Altos, Quetzaltenango, Salcajá, San Carlos Sija, San Francisco La Unión, San Martín Sacatepéquez, San Mateo, San Miguel Sigüila, Sibilia, Zunil
Baja Verapaz8 municipalities: Cubulco, El Chol, Granados, Purulhá, Rabinal, Salamá, San Jerónimo, San Miguel Chicaj
Santa Rosa14 municipalities: Barberena, Casillas, Chiquimulilla, Cuilapa, Guazacapán, Nueva Santa Rosa, Oratorio, Pueblo Nuevo Viñas, San Juan Tecuaco, San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Cruz Naranjo, Santa María Ixhuatán, Santa Rosa de Lima, Taxisco
Suchitepéquez19 municipalities: Chicacao, Cuyotenango, Mazatenango, Patulul, Samayac, San Antonio Suchitepéquez, San Bernardino, San Francisco Zapotitlán, San Gabriel, San José El Ídolo, San José La Máquina, San Juan Bautista, San Lorenzo (Suchitepéquez), San Miguel Panán, San Pablo Jocopilas, Santa Bárbara (Suchitepéquez), Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez, Santo Tomás La Unión, Zunilito
Jalapa7 municipalities: Jalapa, Mataquescuintla, Monjas, San Carlos Alzatate, San Luis Jilotepeque, San Manuel Chaparrón, San Pedro Pinula
Chiquimula11 municipalities: Camotán, Chiquimula, Concepción Las Minas, Esquipulas, Ipala, Jocotán, Olopa, Quezaltepeque, San Jacinto, San José La Arada, San Juan Ermita
Retalhuleu10 municipalities: Champerico, El Asintal, Nuevo San Carlos, Pueblo Nuevo, Retalhuleu, San Andrés Villa Seca, San Felipe, San Martín Zapotitlán, San Sebastián, Santa Cruz Muluá
Sacatepéquez16 municipalities: Alotenango, Antigua Guatemala, Ciudad Vieja, Jocotenango, Magdalena Milpas Altas, Pastores, San Antonio Aguas Calientes, San Bartolomé Milpas Altas, San Lucas Sacatepéquez, San Miguel Dueñas, Santa Catarina Barahona, Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Santa María de Jesús, Santiago Sacatepéquez, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Sumpango
El Progreso8 municipalities: El Jícaro, Guastatoya, Morazán, San Agustín Acasaguastlán, San Antonio La Paz, San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán, Sanarate, Sansare
Totonicapán8 municipalities: Momostenango, San Andrés Xecul, San Bartolo, San Cristóbal Totonicapán, San Francisco El Alto, Santa Lucía La Reforma, Santa María Chiquimula, Totonicapán

Worked examples

Santa Catarina Palopó

The smallest of them

Santa Catarina Palopó is a municipality of Sololá on the shore of Lake Atitlán, and the smallest of the 340 by area. It is small enough to need a tap area on the map.

San Andrés

The biggest of them

San Andrés is the largest municipality in Guatemala, in the north west of Petén on the border with Mexico. It is mostly forest and wetland, and it holds the Laguna del Tigre.

San Pedro Sacatepéquez (San Marcos)

The name that is on the map twice

San Pedro Sacatepéquez in San Marcos is a highland town near Quetzaltenango. Its namesake lies in the department of Guatemala, close to the capital. The brackets name the department, and so does the group the question is dealt from.

Frequently asked questions

How many municipalities does Guatemala have?

340, spread over the 22 departments.

Why are some names in brackets?

Six names are borne by two municipalities each, and the bracket says which department the one you are asked about is in.

Why does the game open on one department?

340 names are a long first sitting, so a first run starts on the department of Guatemala and you can switch the rest on in the settings.

The tier above this one is Guatemala Departments. For another country at this level, see Ecuador Cantons.

Sources

geoBoundaries, Guatemala ADM2 and ADM1, the boundaries; each municipality takes the department it lies in
Municipalities of Guatemala, the 340 municipalities, by department

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